Hitokiri
by Jingoro
Summary: The fight between Ranma and Hiko commences. Please R&R.
1. Into the Bakumatsu

Hitokiri ~Jingoro~  
  
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro. Please don't sue me because even if you do you won't get anything 'cause I'm dirt poor!  
  
"" are used for talking '' are used for thought  
  
Chapter One: Into the Bakumatsu  
  
Ranma sat next to the koi pond and stared at the koi swimming back and forth. He let out a sigh. He had just been chased for three hours by what seemed like everyone living in Nerima. Ranma closed his eyes and lay back and stared at the sky. The stars were really beautiful at night. He soon found himself drifting off in exhaustion. The lines of stress that had been on his face drifted away leaving him to dream. Akane found him like this and let out a sigh. She reentered the house only to come back with a blanket and covered Ranma. She quickly looked around to make sure no one had seen her and quickly crept back into the house giving Ranma one last look. An hour passed. Then two. That was when Ranma's eyes fluttered open. He sat up and looked around. He stared at the blanket that lay on top of him. He looked up into Akane's window and stared at it, then sighed once again. He took off the blanket and stood up slowly.  
  
He walked into the house and headed to his room when he passed Happosai's "room". On impulse he entered remembering that Happosai was still out for the night. He looked around carefully avoiding all the panties that lay scattered on the ground. Then he found what he was looking for. The Nan-ban mirror. He looked at it for a moment and carried it out with him. He crept to his room and then headed out as soon as he saw his father snoring. He quickly got outside and leaped to the roof of the Tendo house. He silently wondered what he was doing. He suddenly remembered that he needed a teardrop to make the mirror work. He thought of something that might make him cry when the events on Phoenix Mountain flashed in his head. Each event flashed in his mind in sequence only to stop at the point where he truly thought Akane had died. His eyes clouded over remembering that moment.  
  
What was he doing right now? Just running away. Always running. The tear escaped his eyes before he could stop it and dripped onto the mirror. The mirror flashed brightly then Ranma was gone. A flicker of light flashed where Ranma had just been. Unbeknownst to Ranma a tiny crack was on the mirror. As the tear hit the crack the mirror flashed again then again. Suddenly it all stopped and Ranma looked around when a bright light flashed in his eyes and something knocked him off of his feet. He felt himself hit something then slowly everything went black.  
  
*****  
  
A young Kenshin looked at the boy in front of him. He looked about the same age as him. He was wearing bright red clothes, of Chinese origin Kenshin guessed. The boy's hair was also tied into a long ponytail. The overall appearance of the boy was strange in Kenshin's eye but he let that go. Kenshin looked up at Hiko Seijurou.  
  
"What should we do with him shishou?" Kenshin asked.  
  
"Bring him inside. I'll figure out what to do with him as soon as he wakes up. You will go train," Hiko said while picking up the boy with ease.  
  
Kenshin's face dropped and he went on his way. Hiko watched him, then turned around and entered his hut with the boy. He laid him down on one of the futons and left him there. Hiko got out a bottle of sake and a cup and drank a little. About ten minutes later the boy began to move. Hiko set down his sake and waited patiently for the boy to open his eyes, and open they did. The boy sat up and rubbed his head and looked around to see where he was. His eyes ended up on Hiko.  
  
"Ugh. where am I?" the boy asked.  
  
"You're in my house. Now I'd like to know how you got here," Hiko asked sternly.  
  
"Huh? How I got here? Err. shit. err. could you tell me more specifically where I am?" the boy asked.  
  
"What do you mean?" Hiko said not understanding what the boy was talking about.  
  
'Shit. Where am I? Where the hell did the Nan-ban mirror take me?' Ranma thought to himself.  
  
"Err. never mind. Just forget what I just said," Ranma said.  
  
Hiko eyed Ranma carefully. The boy looked to be about the same age as Kenshin. He could also tell that the boy wasn't just an ordinary boy from carrying him. The boy definitely had a very good muscle build.  
  
'Is he some kind of spy? But that doesn't make any sense. Who would be spying on me? If not, then how did he find this place. And what's with his clothes? If he was a spy they wouldn't wear such brightly colored clothing,' Hiko thought silently.  
  
Ranma noticed Hiko's wary eye on him. That was when Kenshin walked in. Ranma looked up at Kenshin and saw the sword hanging on Kenshin's side and his clothing. Looking back and forth between the two and the look of the place he was in he figured that he was way in the past. He sighed and decided to just go with things until he could find a way out of there.  
  
"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Kenshin asked hopeful that he might have found a possible friend here in this lonely place.  
  
"Uh, yeah. Thanks to both of you. Now uh, if you could lead me to the nearest town I would be gratef." Ranma started when Hiko cut him short.  
  
"I'll ask again, who are you and how did you find this place?" Hiko yelled.  
  
"Look, I don't know, ok? Now could you please let me out?" Ranma asked getting a little frustrated.  
  
"You won't survive very long out there," Kenshin stated, as if it were an obvious thing.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked getting irritated.  
  
"You'll get killed. What, you don't know about the war?" Hiko said surprised by the boy's brash attitude.  
  
"What the hell you talking about. I can take care of myself," Ranma spat.  
  
"I doubt it. How old are you? 11? 12?" Hiko asked.  
  
"WHAT? I'm 18!" Ranma yelled.  
  
"What are you talking about? Are you just really short?" Kenshin said giving ranma strange looks.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ranma yelled.  
  
"Take a look," Hiko said getting out a mirror, while giving Ranma a strange look.  
  
He placed the mirror in front of Ranma and waited. Ranma gave no reaction. Hiko took away the mirror and stared at Ranma.  
  
"No way. what the hell?" Ranma mumbled to himself with wide eyes.  
  
'What the hell is going on?! Why do I look so young?!' Ranma thought to himself.  
  
He quickly pulled out the Nan-ban mirror and stared at it. Moments later he slowly placed the mirror on the ground. Hiko looked at the mirror only to see that a huge crack lay right in the middle splitting the mirror in two. Hiko raised his eyebrow and just looked at Ranma, who looked a lot paler then before.  
  
'SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!' Ranma thought over in his head.  
  
'Did the Nan-ban mirror do this?! Shit! When did it break?! Now what am I going to do?!' Ranma thought to himself.  
  
Hiko looked at the boy. Utterly confused by the boy's actions he sighed.  
  
"Fine. I don't know what you're doing here or how you got here but at least tell me you name," Hiko said finally.  
  
"Huh? My name? Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," He said proudly.  
  
"Saotome School of Anything Goes? Never heard of it," Hiko stated blankly.  
  
"Not many have," Ranma said smugly.  
  
"Want to see how effective it is?" Ranma said wanting to get his mind off of his current problems, and fighting was something he was familiar with.  
  
Kenshin stared at Ranma like he was crazy.  
  
"You want to fight him?" Kenshin said pointing at Hiko, "He's a master of Kenjitsu and I mean, look at him! How can you even hope to win?"  
  
"Kenjitsu? Damn. I don't use weapons. Oh well, doesn't matter. Give me a sword and let's see what you're made of," Ranma said with a cocky smirk.  
  
Hiko looked at Ranma for a second then laughed.  
  
"Fine, let's see how good you are Saotome-chan," Hiko said mockingly.  
  
Ranma let the remark go, knowing well that Hiko was just trying to make him mad. Kenshin just shrugged his shoulders and gave Ranma his sword. Ranma caught it in his hand and twirled it in his hand. Hiko raised his eyebrow at the skill the boy showed. The trio walked outside and Ranma and Hiko faced each other. Kenshin stood in the middle and raised his hand.  
  
"There will be no killing so turn the sword around when attacking so you hit with the reverse side of the blade," Kenshin announced.  
  
Both combatants nodded their heads and got into their respective stances. Hiko, into a battou jutsu stance, while Ranma just stood in a seemingly nonchalant stance. Kenshin saw this and figured Hiko would beat Ranma into the ground. Kenshin shrugged his shoulders again and lowered his hand. In a moment Hiko was gone. Kenshin looked at where Ranma was standing only to see only Hiko looking around with his sword unsheathed. In a moment however, Hiko shot up next to Ranma, who was currently in the air and struck him hard in the chest. Ranma shot down and hit a nearby tree with a cough. Hiko gently landed and looked at Ranma. He re-sheathed his katana and turned around when Ranma yelled at him.  
  
"Don't think you've won yet! I've got a few moves still," Ranma yelled.  
  
'Shit. this guys no pushover, and in my younger state I can't take hits as well as I could but it looks like I can still do everything. Now let's see how he likes this.' Ranma thought to himself.  
  
Ranma got up shakily and stabbed the sword in the ground. Kenshin looked on wide-eyed. He was surprised at the other boy's tenacity. It seemed that the boy wasn't all talk. Kenshin stood, mildly impressed, only to become very impressed. Ranma lowered his body a little then said a few words.  
  
"Umisen-ken." Ranma said quietly then vanished.  
  
Hiko stared at the place where Ranma had been. Then rubbed his eyes.  
  
'Did the boy just disappear.' Hiko thought when his body was hit with a fury of punches.  
  
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma yelled this time throwing hundreds of punches directly into Hiko's stomach.  
  
Hiko stepped back a few steps and regained his composure. He grabbed his stomach at the same time feeling the multitude of hits.  
  
"What the hell." Hiko started when a large ball of light sped to his face.  
  
Kenshin stood wide-eyed as Hiko, for the first time in his life, was thrown back onto the ground. Ranma let out a laugh.  
  
"Hah! Take that!" Ranma said when his mouth dropped as Hiko jumped right back up.  
  
"That was incredible. Did you just fire a ki blast at me?" Hiko asked.  
  
"Err. yea." Ranma stuttered completely thrown off by this reaction.  
  
"That's very impressive. You may not be a very good swordsman but you are indeed one hell of a fighter. You pass. You can take care of yourself. Haha. What a kid. Only 12 and throwing ki blasts." Hiko mumbled to himself.  
  
Kenshin on the other hand ran up to Ranma and looked him up and down.  
  
"That was incredible! What the hell was that?" Kenshin asked with youthful energy.  
  
"Huh? It was just a ki blast. That's all." Ranma answered a little cockily.  
  
"Ki blast? Sounds like ken ki, except you threw it out of your body. That's incredible." Kenshin mumbled to himself and turned around and followed Hiko into the hut.  
  
Kenshin turned around and motioned for Ranma to follow. Ranma shrugged his shoulders and followed. They found Hiko sitting down drinking sake as if nothing had happened. Ranma looked Hiko up and down.  
  
'Damn. he's one hell of a guy. Taking everything I threw at him without a word of pain. Of course I don't have nearly the strength I used to but still he's got more endurance then Ryoga and better speed then my guy side. If it weren't for me surprising him with my Umisen-ken I probably would have lost. Got the strength of a monster too.' Ranma thought rubbing his stomach where he had been hit with the reverse side of Hiko's katana.  
  
Similarly Hiko looked Ranma up and down and evaluated him.  
  
'This boy. where the hell did he learn all of that? His skill, speed and power are all incredible for a boy of his age. This doesn't even count as being a genius or a prodigy. This kids beyond that.' Hiko thought silently.  
  
Kenshin also looked at Ranma and evaluated him.  
  
'Wow, Ranma's incredible. I'm sure I could beat him in a sword fight but hand to hand, I don't even stand a chance. Where the hell did he come from?' Kenshin wondered.  
  
Ranma took a look outside and turned back and faced Hiko and Kenshin.  
  
"Err. I was wondering. could you guys tell me what your names are?" Ranma asked out of nowhere.  
  
"Huh? Oh my! My names Kenshin!" Kenshin said quickly.  
  
"You can call me Shishou," Hiko said in a tone that bore no disagreement.  
  
Ranma looked Hiko straight in his eyes and for a moment said nothing. Then Ranma lowered his head.  
  
"I understand. Shishou," Ranma said acknowledging Hiko as his new master.  
  
'This guy can definitely teach me something new. Looks like this little trip won't be for nothing after all.' Ranma thought.  
  
Kenshin very surprised but not unhappy, shook Ranma's hand. Ranma looked at the linked hands and stared up at Kenshin. For the first time in a long time Ranma a genuine smile graced Ranma's face.  
  
'This guy, I think. I think I'll like it here.' Ranma thought to himself.  
  
With that Hiko turned around and went back to drinking sake.  
  
'This kid. I won't teach him any Hiten Mitsurigi Ryu, however. I will teach him how to better handle a sword. and maybe, he'll pick up a few things up from Kenshin. These two kids, incredible. One kid filled with immeasurable determination, while the other posses limitless potential. I must remember to thank Kami for letting me meet these two. Hahaha.' Hiko mused silently.  
  
The two boys had already hit it off and had run off together. Hiko smiled and took another sip of his sake when Kenshin ran back into the hut looking like he had seen a ghost. He was completely pale and breathing excessively. Hiko raised his eyebrow and got up.  
  
"What the hell? What are you doing? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Hiko yelled, irritated that his pupil would be this scared of anything.  
  
"R-R-Ranma. h-h-he t-t-turned." Kenshin began to stutter.  
  
"Spit it out! I didn't raise a weakling!" Hiko yelled.  
  
"Heturnedintoagirlwithredhair!" Kenshin yelled out.  
  
"What?" Hiko said completely annoyed by now.  
  
"He turned into a girl with red hair!" Kenshin repeated slightly slower.  
  
"What?!" Hiko said, completely confused now.  
  
That was when Ranma-onna, stepped into the hut, completes with bright red hair and one very cute face. Hiko's mouth dropped and Kenshin ran behind him. Ranma sighed and put his hand behind his head and grabbed his ponytail.  
  
"Umm. sorry about this." Ranma started.  
  
"Who are you?!" Hiko bellowed.  
  
"Err. my name is Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this," he repeated.  
  
"What?!" Hiko said, getting a massive headache by now.  
  
Author's notes: Wow, I haven't written anything in forever. I bet it's obvious too. Not really great stuff but oh well. I'm still working on my other stories but I thought I would write this just for the heck of getting back into the swing of things. whatever. so tired. I hate school. 


	2. Training Commences

Chapter Two: Training commences  
  
Ranma-onna sat back in the spot she had occupied earlier while Hiko and Kenshin stared at Ranma with suspicious eyes.  
  
"Ok, now let me get this straight. You got that curse while training with your father in China. I'll believe that only because I've watched you change a couple of times, but what the hell. What kind of idiot father does something so stupid?" Hiko asked incredulously.  
  
"Mine." Ranma grumbled under his breath.  
  
'Damn, I forgot all about the curse. Should have been a bit more careful." Ranma thought.  
  
Flashback:  
  
Ranma had run out ahead of Kenshin. Kenshin shot out of the hut after him and commenced a chase when Ranma noticed Kenshin was carrying something. Ranma tried to see what it was, but when he found out it was too late and the water was already in his face. The change occurred in Ranma instantly leaving Kenshin to stare wide eyed, as Ranma stood completely wet. It took a second for it to register in Kenshin's mind, and then he bolted for the hut. Ranma sighed and headed back as well.  
  
End Flashback.  
  
Ranma sighed again. He had been through one hell of a day and it wasn't looking to get any better. However, for once in his life things got better.  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter. I don't care what you look like as long as you're good enough and I can tell you're good enough, of course not as good as me, but who is?" Hiko asked no one in particular.  
  
Ranma's right eyebrow rose as he was finally exposed to the incredible ego that was Hiko Seijurou. Kenshin just sighed and waved his hand as if telling Ranma to ignore him. Ranma didn't even see him as he was staring at Hiko who was staring right back. What Kenshin didn't know of was the astronomical ego that was Ranma Saotome. Whatever Kami's thought it would be funny to put these two egos together, were laughing their heads off now. As Kenshin looked at Ranma and Hiko, who were still staring at each other a chill ran up and down his spine. A large sweat drop formed on Kenshin's forehead. He slowly crept out and sighed. He looked up into the sky. It was looking to be a very interesting future, but he was glad he wouldn't have to go it alone.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma rose from the futon he had been resting on during the night. He rubbed his eye and looked around for Genma only to find a young red haired boy lying next to him. That was when everything that had happened returned to him. He slowly stood up and stretched his body. He still wasn't used to being stuck in his younger self. He was weaker, slower, and didn't have nearly the amount of chi reserve he had had before. He had drained himself almost completely the night before. Using the Moko Takabishi and the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken had been taxing without the proper training in his system. He sat down and closed his eyes again and began to channel his chi through his body. With his chi flowing throughout his body his senses skyrocketed. He felt Hiko's chi at a low level as if he was hiding it. Kenshin's was at a steady pace running through his body normally. Ranma listened to the world around him and just meditated for a while when he felt Kenshin wake up. He opened his eyes and greeted his new roommate.  
  
"Looks like sleepy head finally woke up," Ranma said with a smirk.  
  
"Huh? Oh yea." Kenshin said unused to having someone else there.  
  
"Well I can't wait till breakfast! I'm starving!" Ranma shouted as he stood up.  
  
'Man, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse! I haven't eaten anything since. the dinner before I came here.' Ranma thought silently.  
  
Kenshin watched with an upraised eyebrow then shrugged his shoulders and slowly got up. Both of the boys walked outside and washed their faces. The splash from the two boys threw up more water then Ranma cared for and both of them found themselves soaking wet. Kenshin turned around only to look at the now red-haired girl. Momentarily shocked he jumped back then caught himself.  
  
"This. is going to take some getting used to." Kenshin muttered.  
  
Ranma just let it go and went to heat up some water. Kenshin sighed. It was obvious that Ranma didn't enjoy the curse. Kenshin put the thought into the back of his mind and found a towel and dried himself off. As soon as he was dry he walked back into the hut to see Ranma, once again a male, staring at the cracked mirror he had brought the night before. A towel was slung over his shoulders as he just stared at the mirror. Kenshin thought to ask but decided not to. If Ranma was going to tell, he could tell whenever he wanted to. Besides it wasn't his business anyways. Kenshin sat down and started to eat some of the bread that had been left over. Kenshin broke half of the bread and tossed it up to Ranma who grabbed it and started eating, never once taking his eyes off the mirror.  
  
Ranma stared at the Nan-ban mirror sadly. There was a huge crack that ran from the top to the bottom splitting the mirror in two.  
  
'Shit, what the hell am I supposed to do now?' he thought silently when Hiko came in.  
  
Ranma looked up while licking his fingers, the piece of bread long since devoured.  
  
"Hurry up you two. We don't all the time in the world. You're lucky to have a sensei so kind and generous to let you linger around this much as it is," Hiko stated, feeding his already huge ego once again.  
  
Both boys just sweat dropped and followed Hiko out the hut and up to the waterfall. Ranma walked slightly faster then Kenshin, an eager expression on his face. Kenshin walked slightly slower knowing already what they were in for. As they approached the waterfalls Ranma looked over the edge.  
  
'Hmm, not too bad. There's an element of risk and its got one heck of a view. This place is great for a training place. Hiko got himself one hell of a training place,' Ranma thought silently.  
  
"Ok Ranma, since its quite obvious that you've had some previous training I'm gonna train you both at the same time. Any problems with that?" Hiko asked.  
  
"Aren't I a little better then him?" Ranma asked in his cocky voice while pointing at Kenshin.  
  
In a moment Hiko was in front of Ranma and hit him on the head. Ranma buckled over and rubbed his now bruised head.  
  
'Shit, how did he get there so fast? He wasn't that fast last time unless. damn, he wasn't trying his best. That means I'm a lot slower then I thought I was. I could barely pull of the Amaguriken last time and I might not be able to handle it if I don't get my training back. Well, might as get started,' Ranma thought through in his head.  
  
With that Ranma took in a deep breath and found his center and took up a ready stance. Kenshin watched him and followed suit. Both of them radiated their chi to their max. Ranma stood amazed as Kenshin exerted a lot more then Ranma was expecting. With a little more training Kenshin may be faster then him. As it was at the moment they were about equal in speed, however when Ranma was a girl his speed increased quite dramatically. In his guy form Ranma was quite a bit stronger but in his girl form he was about the same strength, so as it stood Ranma was still the superior fighter but not by all too much. Hiko took one of the two swords he had been carrying and tossed one to Ranma. Kenshin stood holding his at his side. Ranma looked down at his looked up at Hiko.  
  
"What do you want me to do with this?" Ranma yelled.  
  
"BAKA! You're going to need to know how to handle a sword much better then you were earlier," Hiko started when Ranma interrupted.  
  
"Why do I need to? Weapons just limit the number of ways you can attack and it also limits the number of ways you can defend. It just makes you weaker then you really could be," Ranma spouted cockily.  
  
"Oh really? So what are you going to do against all the people carrying swords huh? Some of them are going to be much to quick for you to just defend with your hands Saotome-chan. If you can get to a point where you can defend yourself for more then ten minutes against me then I'll consider you good enough to take on over ninety percent of the swordsmen out there. Until then you listen to what I say, no questions asked," Hiko said quite sternly.  
  
"That's fine with me. Set the date and we'll have ourselves a rematch," Ranma spouted cockily.  
  
"If that's the way you want it, we'll have a rematch in one week. During that time I won't teach you a thing and I expect you to never watch us train. You manage to get good enough with a sword to defend yourself from me for ten minutes then I'll let you do whatever you feel like. If not I'm gonna make sure you have a lot of fun after the match," Hiko stated evenly.  
  
"Then its set. We meet here in a week's time. Until then I'm gonna take a little trip and train myself. Don't worry, I'm not gonna stray too far from the property," Ranma said, and with that he walked away.  
  
Kenshin just watched the two and sighed. He turned his attention to Hiko. He found himself staring at a bunch of leaves being sliced in half as they approached Hiko's body as his ken ki raged. Kenshin sighed. Today was not going to be very fun. Kenshin held up his sword in a ready stance and awaited his next orders.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma found himself in a clearing after about a ten-minute run. He lifted the sword he had been carrying and looked at it. He took the sword out of the sheath and held it up in the light. It was a very well made sword, that much he could tell. He swung it quickly to his side and watched the air pressure move. He needed to get stronger if he were to be able to take any of Hiko's hits. Ranma steeled himself for his coming training. He was not about to let anyone change his way of fighting. A sword was unnecessary to him. With that in mind he began to gather materials for his training. Eventually a pile of sticks, a couple boulders, chestnuts, and numerous pieces of wood was formed. Ranma wiped the sweat from his head.  
  
"We'll see who needs to use a sword."  
  
Author's notes: Looks like Ranma is going to go through all of his past training methods again and maybe a few new ones. We'll see how things turn out. Will he be able to stand up to Hiko for ten minutes? Shouldn't be a problem, right? We'll see. Please R&R! 


	3. Training Continued

Chapter Three: Training Continued  
  
Hiko stared at the waterfall as it cascaded over the cliff.  
  
'It's been a week. He should be showing up any moment now...' Hiko thought to himself when Kenshin walked up next to him.  
  
"He should be coming soon, ne?" Kenshin asked quietly.  
  
"Yea..." Hiko answered, when he felt it.  
  
Hiko turned around and smiled as he felt Ranma's faint trail of chi. Ranma walked up the cliff smiling, a series of bruises and cuts littering his body. His loose black pants had a few rips in them while his shirt was completely ripped apart as it barely clung to his body. Hiko looked into Ranma's eyes as he walked up to them. There was an aura of confidence in them as he strode forward. Hiko smiled. It was going to be an interesting match if anything.  
  
"Long time no see, Saotome-chan," Hiko said smiling.  
  
"Nice to see you too," Ranma muttered as he found himself already being insulted.  
  
"You seem to be pretty beat up," Hiko said, stating the obvious.  
  
"Yea, well training ain't exactly the most pretty thing," Ranma said right back.  
  
"True enough. Well, do you wish to begin now?" Hiko asked.  
  
"Anywhere and anytime," Ranma said smiling.  
  
"Right here and right now," Hiko retaliated.  
  
Kenshin just watched the interaction with a sigh. Ranma walked up to Kenshin and handed him the sword he had had during the past week.  
  
"I won't be needing this," Ranma said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Kenshin asked as he took the sword.  
  
Ranma just smiled as he walked up to Hiko. Ranma looked at Hiko with a smug look as he stopped just a few feet in front of him.  
  
"Ready?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Of course," Hiko replied.  
  
Both of them took a fighting stance. Hiko immediately grasped the handle of his sword and took a stance. Ranma merely shifted his weight to his front foot. A burst of water sprayed up as the two stood in front of each other. The amount of pressure in the air made Kenshin involuntarily step backwards. The two fighters stared at each other as they waited for the perfect moment of attack. The water that had managed to cascade over everyone landed right between the two. It was in that instant that Hiko and Ranma moved. They both leapt over the water and met in the middle as Hiko drew his sword and Ranma tucked into a ball. Hiko slashed horizontally as Ranma spun downwards before Hiko could hit him. Hiko looked down only to see the Ranma become enveloped in the water. Hiko expanded his chi as best he could and found Ranma's presence suddenly behind him. Hiko turned around midair as he fell and blocked Ranma's kick with his left forearm. The two separated and landed across from each other again. Hiko stared at the now feminine Ranma with a smile.  
  
'He's even faster then he was when we first fought,' Hiko thought to himself. 'But I have yet to go all out...' Hiko said to himself smiling.  
  
It had been a long time since Hiko had had to fight anywhere near this level. Kenshin had been fairly close but Ranma was just more experienced. Hiko sheathed his sword and entered into his basic battou jutsu stance.  
  
"Well, I think that it's time to show you the true power of the Hiten Mitsurigi Ryu," Hiko said. "Keep track of the time, Kenshin. Remember, I'm giving him 10 minutes."  
  
Kenshin just looked at Ranma stoically.  
  
'What will you do now?' Kenshin thought to himself.  
  
Ranma just stared at Hiko.  
  
'Shit... I don't know anything about his fighting style and he already knows most of my techniques... I'll have to rely on my speed as a girl to avoid any major hits...' Ranma thought to himself as he steeled himself for Hiko's next attack.  
  
Hiko bent slightly lower and gripped his sword tightly. In a burst of speed he leapt off the ground towards Ranma when he suddenly vanished from Ranma's view. Ranma immediately expanded his chi and felt Hiko's chi above him. Ranma watched as Hiko took the word out of its sheath and crossed his body with his sword as he reached the apex of his jump. Ranma felt a sudden shiver run down his spine as he watched Hiko's eyes narrow.  
  
"Hiten Mitsurigi Ryu, Ryu Tsui Sen!" Hiko shouted as he plummeted towards ground.  
  
Ranma shook himself out of his reverie and shot away from where he was just as Hiko exploded on the ground. Ranma breathed hard as he watched Hiko slowly get up.  
  
'Damn... he's completely different from last time,' Ranma cursed to himself.  
  
Ranma stood up as he began to channel as much chi as he could to his legs. He noticed Hiko's chi level spike again as he took another battou jutsu stance. Ranma noticed Hiko shift his weight to the front. Ranma gritted his teeth as he stood his ground in front of Hiko. Hiko drew his sword in a quick fashion, raising it up slightly, and then cut the ground in front of him in a swooping fashion spraying an array of rocks towards Ranma. Ranma jumped backwards quickly. As he landed he shot his index finger towards the ground.  
  
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ranma shouted as his finger caused the ground to explode.  
  
Hiko watched as Ranma's attack destroyed his own.  
  
'Interesting technique... I guess I'll just have to do better...' Hiko thought to himself when he lost all sense of Ranma.  
  
It had been during the confusion that Ranma had activated his Umisen-ken technique. Ranma ran around Hiko and slowly made his way near Hiko. In a sudden burst of chi Ranma dropped the Umisen-ken and called his next technique.  
  
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"  
  
In an instant Hiko found himself being belted with hundreds of punches in his midsection. Hiko coughed slightly as Ranma jumped away after his attack. Hiko quickly found his bearing and searched out Ranma only to see a blur in front of him before another series of punches struck him. Hiko blocked as many as he could and sidestepped Ranma in an instant, and then simultaneously slammed the hilt of his sword straight into Ranma's midsection. Ranma flew into the back wall, crashing through a few rocks. Ranma coughed up a little blood as he slowly stood. His eyes steadied as he quickly regained his bearings. Hiko looked into Ranma's eyes and smirked.  
  
'Still burning to prove himself. Well, this has gone on long enough...' Hiko thought to himself as he once again entered into his battou jutsu stance.  
  
"Watch closely, Kenshin, and maybe you'll learn something," Hiko shouted out as he smiled.  
  
Ranma stood his ground, readying himself for the next attack, still recovering from the last blow. Ranma watched Hiko closely trying to read his next attack. However, Hiko launched himself forward with incredible speed and then blew past Ranma, softly saying the name of his technique.  
  
"Ku Zu Ryu Sen."  
  
Ranma just stood there unable to comprehend what had just happened when 9 small cuts appeared on his body. Ranma stared at each of the cuts, each of them placed accurately on a vital point on his body. Ranma turned around slowly and looked at Hiko. Ranma sighed. He had been beaten.  
  
"It's been 5 seconds past ten minutes, sensei," Kenshin suddenly spoke as he looked over at Ranma smiling.  
  
Hiko looked at Ranma and smirked.  
  
"You did better than I expected," Hiko said as he faced Ranma.  
  
Ranma sighed as he looked over at Hiko. The last technique that Hiko had pulled on him still lingered in his mind. The speed that the technique had been carried out had been faster than even his Amaguriken. Ranma silently thought about the techniques he had seen so far. It made him excited to see what else there was. Ranma had also seen the speed that carrying the sword had enabled Hiko. It had been as if with the sword Hiko had been able to slice through the air, completely disrupting the space around him, allowing him to move seamlessly around. Ranma smiled as he looked up at Hiko.  
  
"I concede defeat. I was never planning on holding you to that 10 min rule. A fight is a fight and there is only one winner and one loser and I lost this time. There's no question about that. I'll take up the sword, but that doesn't mean it's going to become my main weapon. I'm still a student of Anything Goes Martial Arts... but that doesn't mean I can't broaden my horizons, ne?" Ranma said with a smile.  
  
Kenshin smiled upon hearing Ranma's words, as did Hiko. The three of them stood there for a moment when Hiko looked at he both of them.  
  
"Well, I guess it's time for you two to start practicing. We've wasted enough time standing here. Pick up a sword Ranma. We'll be starting at where Kenshin is at the moment," Hiko said sheathing his sword.  
  
Kenshin grabbed Ranma's sword and sheath that he had given him at the beginning and threw it back at Ranma. Ranma caught it in the air and tied it to his waist. They looked at each other for a split second and smiled. The sounds of theirs blades meeting echoed throughout the night.  
  
Author's notes: I've finally finished another chapter of this. It's been tough to write lately. But no worries, I'm still writing and I'm still working on all my other stories. Hopefully I write better then before. Well, this chapter was a little short so I'll try to make it longer next time. Until then! 


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